Grating



y ,1 H. J. ASLESON GRATING Filed Aug. 22, 1930 1.1mm Hams Asleson i to Patented July 26, 1932 UNITED STATES HANS J. ASLESON, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA 2 GBATING Application filed August 22, 1930. Serial in. 477,022.

My invention relates to gratings and has for its object to provide a grating which shall be inexpensive to manufacture and which will give the advantages of themore f expensive gratings. I

An object of the invention resides in providing a grating which will have an extremely great lateral rigidity for its weight.

Another object of the invention resides in providing a grating utilizing T bars for the longitudinal beam elements of the grating.

A still further object of the invention resides in providing spacer strips adapted to extend between the flanges of the adjoining 1 T bars.

A feature of the invention resides in welding said strips to the edges of the flanges of the T bars to form an integral construction.

An object of the invention resides in welding the strips to said flanges from theunderside of the grating so as to leave the upper surface thereof smooth.

Other objects of the invention reside in the novel combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter illustrated and/or described.

In the drawing: 7

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a grating illustrating an embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

In the construction of gratings in the customary manner, a number of thin strips of material have been fastened together by various methods to cause the strips to form an interconnected network of verticallydisposed bars, some of said bars being continuous throughout the structure. When said gratings are stressed through overloading, the same usually fail through the buckling of the continuous bars. The present invention provides a grating which will have greater lateral rigidity than the ordinary grating so that the tendency of the grating to fail through simple bending will be equally as great as through buckling thereby provid ing a far more rigid grating for the same weight of material than would. otherwise possible.

In carryingout my invention, I procure the results by employing T bars for the continuous bars and attachingthrough welding the spacer strips to the flanges of the T bars, and in constructing said spacer strips of a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the flanges of the T bars.

are all identical in construction. These spacer strips are formed with parallel portions 24 and 25 which are interconnectedby oblique portions 26 and 27. The various spacer strips are preferably constructed of a substantially rectangular metal which is bent to'produce the various, parts thereof. The spacer strips 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 are disposed with their upper surfaces 28 flush with and in the plane of the upper'surface of the flanges 17 and 18 of the various T bars of the invention and with the outer edges of'the portions 24 and 25 thereof in contact with the edges 29 of the flanges 17 and 18. These spacer strips are secured through the por- My invention is best illustrated in Fig. 1' 60 and comprises a plurality of T barsjindicated at 10, 11, 12, 13, 1 1 and 15, each of which is constructed with a web 16 andwith flanges 17 and 18 extending outwardly from said web along both sides thereof. These Tbars are spaced a suitable distance apart preferably a distance s'ubstantially equal to the width of the flanges 17 and 18 or greater than the same and with all of the flanges 17 and 18 of said T bars'lying in a common plane. Between these various flanges are dispo'sed'a number of spacer strips 19, 20,21, 22, and 23 which time 24 and 25 thereof to the flanges l7 and 18 ofthe various T bars welding the same thereto as best indicated at 30 and 31 in Fig. 3. [The welding is preferably performed from beneath the grating so as to'leave the upper surface of the grating smooth and free from any of the irregularities usually occurring in welding. i

In the construction of my improved gratingthe parts are preferably welded together by electric welding. Towardthis end the T bars and spacers are alternately disposed upon a movable supporting structure and forced toward one another and so held while the welding takes place. In the welding of the parts together, the grating is preferably advanced and the welding progressively accomplished by application of the localized electrode of the welding machine to the grating at the joints between the portions 24: and 25 of the various spacer strips and the flanges 17 and 18 of the T bars. This is furthermore accomplished by the application of the localized electrodes to the underside of the grat ing so that as the parts become welded together a smooth surface is given the upper surface of the grating. Where electric welding is used, I find it advantageous to construct the various spacer strips of slightly thicker metal than the thickness of the flanges of the T bars. This gives suflicient stock so that welding may be made without making the thickness of the composite structure less than the thickness of the flanges of the T bars.

Although I have shown the spacer strips as secured to the flanges of the T bars through welding, it can readily be comprehended that these spacer strips may be formed with underlying portions adapted to be riveted to the flanges of the T bars instead of through weld ing. In either event, the web of the T bars which resists the bending stresses is left in tact so as to give a maximum strength thereto. At the same time, sufficient lateral rigidity is procured through the flanges even though the same be formed with openings for the riveting of such spacers.

My invention is highly advantageous in that an extremely simple and effective construction is provided for the desired purpose. For a given thickness and depth of web, a much lighter and cheaper grating can be construeted in accordance with my invention than with the methods heretofore employed. A more extended upper surface is to be had through the flanges of the T bars which make it much easier to walk upon grating constructed in accordance with my invention than grating in which merely the narrow edges of the flat strips are uppermost. This is particularly true where soft soled shoes are employed. Considerably more light may be transmitted through my grating than is possible with the ordinary types of grating in which the spacer or connecting members are of substantially the same depth as the longitudinal beam members of the grating. This is due to the fact that the light in striking these members at an angle is intercepted and the amount of such intercepted light depends upon the depth of the spacer or connecting members. By welding the spacer members to the flanges of the T bars from beneath the grating, the upper surface of the grating is left perfectly smooth and free from blemishes such as frequently occur in welding, In the event that the welding does not extend completely through the strip the portion of the strip subject to tensile stresses is integrally connected. while the portion subject to compression stresses is the part where the welding would be absent. It can therefore be readily seen that failure through the welding not extending completely through the contacting surfaces would not occur.

Changes in the specific form of my invention as herein described may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A grating comprising a plurality of spaced T bars having flanges, and spacer members secured to the flanges of said T bars for holding the same in spaced relation.

2. A grating comprising a plurality of spaced T bars having flanges, and spacer members secured to the flanges of said T bars for holding the same in spaced relation, said members being of a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the flanges of said T bars.

3. A grating comprising a plurality of spaced T bars having flanges, and zig-zag spacer strips alternately contacting with the flanges of said T bar along the edges thereof. and means for attaching said strips to the edges of said flanges.

4. A grating comprising a plurality of spaced T bars having flanges. and zig-zag spacer strips alternately contacting with the flanges of said T bar along the edges thereof. said strips being welded to said flanges along the edges of said flanges.

5. A grating comprising a plurality of spaced T bars haying horizontally disposed flanges, and spacer strips of rectangular cross section disposed between adjoining flanges of said T bars. said strips each having a surface flush with the upper surface of the flanges of said T bars and having surfaces contacting with the edges of the flanges of said T bars, said strips being welded to said T bars along the contacting surfaces of said strips and flanges.

6. A grating comprising a plurality of spaced T bars having horizontally disposed flanges, and spacer strips of rectangular cross section disposed between adjoining flanges of said T bars, said strips each having a surface flush with the upper surface of the flanges of said T bars and having surfaces contacting with the edges of the flanges of said T bars, said strips being welded to said T bars along the contacting surfaces of said strips and flanges, said welding commencing at the surfaces of said flanges opposite the first named surfaces thereof to leave the signature.

HANS J. ASLESON. 

